Monday, April 30, 2007

I never knew much about Masons. When my husband joined maybe about 10 years ago, I went along and thought -- wow, this is nice, interesting ceremony, then usually a reception afterwards, and I always met such nice people. I had heard of the Shriners, usually characterized by crazy, party-loving guys, dressing as clowns at the Circus, driving unwieldy little motos, just generally having fun.

T joined the Shriners last summer, seemed like a great organization. They have all these units, and the Legion of Honor was known as a "serious" one. Ha!

He got a "subpoena" to appear on a given date and time, and as it turned out, they were there to do the annual spring outdoor cleanup. I'm sure they were thrilled to have him haul the billion pounds of wood chips that they had on hand to lay down throughout the grounds.

And, he got presented with a "green thumb" award!! Silly, definitely...but a great way to help spruce up around the Shrine Center.

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Got together last week for a long overdue gathering with 2 college friends. I cannot believe how the years have flown by!! M I've known since oh I think Girl Scouts 3rd grade or something, through high school, and college. C was M's freshman year roommate, and what a great match they were and are for each other!! In college we had bowling nicknames (Pickles, Bubbles, Spike, etc.) I can't remember what my name was!! Remember punk parties??Through the years we went on kind of different paths. M & C both got married and had children relatively quickly, while I was later on this timing...Many things happened that altered how often we got together, how available we were, and resources that we had. But we've always been friends...

Now they talk about grown kids, an utterly delightful daughter in a special home situation, one child in college, 2 others going to college soon. And my youngest is in 1st grade!! I hope that I can be as good of a parent, role model, and provider, as they have been for their children.

So here we are...we don't look a day (or hardly a decade) over 30!! At least most days I feel about that age...

“The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart.”Elisabeth Foley

Friday, April 27, 2007

Wow! What excitement!! S's volleyball playoff game the other day. They have had a really good season, yet the team that they played stepped up and basically returned just about everything that came their way. It was super close all the way through. The "Golden Bears" won the first game, then fell quite far behind in the second game. But they rallied and ended up winning 15-13. Trip to DQ and the world was all right. Way to go!

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Today is my dad's birthday. Wish I could share it in person! Some great things about Dad:- Always kind and giving.- When I was a kid, he & Mom made sure that my brother & I were provided with opportunities to learn and succeed, whether in school, music-piano, athletics, and so forth. When I think back and consider in relation to how I try to support our 3 daughters, I'm just even more thankful...as I know now as a parent, how hard it is to try to squeeze it all in.- Great athlete! Tennis, platform tennis, golf, pinochle (OK just threw that in there).- Musician. He picked up the clarinet again relatively recently, plays in a band, has been complimented that he plays like a professional...at the ripe old age of 70+!!- Supportive.- Well-liked. Fantastic anecdotal comments etc. when we asked for congratulatory input from friends & relatives for the 50-year anniversary scrapbook.- Touching. Gave daughter S one of his clarinets to use when she started band. Special.- Fun. Love Wrigley field! Many great memories there of games.